Intalio raises $1.5M for business management software
Intalio, developer of open-source software for businesses to manage workflow, has brought in $1.5 million in equity and debt, according to a filing with the SEC. The Palo Alto, Calif. company has now raised more than $42 million to date from investors Partech International, Cargill Ventures, 3i Group, Sippl MacDonald Ventures, Woodside Fund and XML Fund.
A prime competitor for Salesforce.com, Intalio launched a cloud computing product in May, branching into customer relationship management software as… Continue Reading
Three firms buy up 3i’s European portfolio
Investment firms Coller Capital and HarbourVest Partners teamed up over the weekend with venture house DFJ Esprit to buy 29 top-tier portfolio companies from the 3i Group’s European portfolio at discount prices.
Coller and HarbourVest are called “secondary market” firms because they buy stakes in companies from investment firms who made the initial investment in companies, and thus they become the second holders of assets.
And now two partners at 3i have left to manage the assets… Continue Reading
Intuitive Surgical buys NeoGuide for less invasive surgical tech
Intuitive Surgical, provider of large robotic surgical equipment, announced its acquisition of NeoGuide Systems, a San Jose, Calif., company that makes minimally invasive surgical devices. Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed. Intuitive says it doesn’t have a specific application for NeoGuide’s technology yet but is most interested in devices that access the body through the mouth, reports VentureWire.
NeoGuide was backed by Advent Venture Partners, Angels Forum, Halo Fund, Arboretum Ventures, 3i Group,… Continue Reading
Massachusetts shines on solar co. Konarka, loans $5M
Thin-film solar company Konarka just landed a $5 million loan from the Emerging Technology Fund of Massachusetts Development Finance Agency and the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust’s Business Expansion Initiative. The funds will be used to build out its new solar material factory in New Bedford, Mass., which has been open since October.
Konarka is known for making plastic solar film capable of turning natural and artificial light into power. Its current manufacturing plant can make enough… Continue Reading
Discera pulls in funds for MEMS chips
Fabless chip maker Discera brought in a new round of funding exceeding $3.2 million from undisclosed investors. It will use the new money for development of its quartz-based timing products.
Previously, the San Jose, Calif.-based company has raised $35 million from backers including Ardesta, Horizon Ventures, Scale Venture Partners, Qualcomm Ventures and 3i Group.
Konarka powers up with $45M for solar “plastic”
Solar innovator Konarka Technologies took in $45 million in strategic funding to further develop its new product for sunlight conversion called Power Plastic and bring it to market. Oil and gas company Total provided the round, acquiring a 20 percent stake in Lowell, Mass.-based Konarka. It hopes to integrate the plastic solar film into products made and used by its subsidiaries, including Hutchinson, Sartomer and Bostik.
The Power Plastic line is prized for being lightweight, flexible… Continue Reading
Meredith gives Real Girls a shot in the arm
Social networking for women got a boost yesterday as media conglomerate Meredith Corp. acquired an undisclosed minority stake in Real Girls Media Network. The San Francisco-based network encompasses about 30 sites and portals for women — notably, DivineCaroline, a largely user-generated advice page.
In addition to bringing Real Girls’ 3 million unique viewers to Meredith’s properties each month (upping its total to 15 million), the deal will combine the two companies’ advertising inventories and sales forces…. Continue Reading
Kineto Wireless raises $15.5M for mobile base station technology
Kineto Wireless Inc., developer of software that lets mobile phones work on both cellular and Wi-Fi networks, brought in $15.5 million in fourth-round funding to advance the technology of wireless base stations — known as femtocells — which would expand home broadband coverage.
The new 3G and 4G femtocells would connect to customers’ existing broadband service to infuse home zone coverage for smart phones, and could even bridge gaps between coverage areas.
The investment round included contributions… Continue Reading
Oracle acquires application management startup ClearApp
Oracle Corp. announced in September that it has acquired ClearApp, a Redwood Shores, Calif.-based maker of application performance management software for an undisclosed amount. ClearApp previously raised more than $20 million in venture backing from 3i Group, Partech International and Sierra Ventures, according to VentureWire.
Web analytics company Coremetrics raises $60M
Coremetrics, one of many analytics companies trying to help website owners understand and market to their visitors, has raised $60 million in a fifth round of financing.
Back in 2006, we said there was some real demand in this area, but probably not enough to support all the companies that were springing up. Coremetrics, however, seems to be getting some real traction, which chief executive Joe Davis attributes to building sophisticated marketing tools — such as… Continue Reading
Life-science briefing: Monday, March 31, 2008
TODAY’S HEADLINES:
Boston Scientific spinout TriVascular2 takes in $65M (release)
Inhaled-drug startup Transave raises $35M (release)
Triage Wireless gets $20M for vital-signs monitors (release)
Tryton Medical receives $14M for “bifurcation” stents (release)
Synthetic bio startup Codon Devices adds $11M (release)
Tracon Pharma takes in $4.5M against cancer and eye disease (VentureWire)
Antibody maker f-star swaps in equity stake by TVM (PDF release)
Drug packager MonoSol Rx withdraws IPO (IPOhome)
GE Healthcare acquires portable-ventilator maker VersaMed (release)
Boston Scientific spinout TriVascular2 takes in $65M – In 2005, Boston… Continue Reading
Carbonite, online backup service for consumers, raises $5.2M more
Carbonite, a Boston company that offers an PC backup service for consumers, has raised $5.2 million more to add to its second round of financing.
The latest money round was led by investor Four Rivers Partners, and included investors 3i Group, Common Angels and Menlo Ventures, according to VentureWire, which reported the news based on a regulatory filing.
A filing from the Securities and Exchange Commission detailing the tranche lists Four Rivers Partners as an investor. Four… Continue Reading
Demand Media raises $100M more for domain name land grab
Demand Media, the 18 month old company founded by former MySpace chairman Richard Rosenblatt, has gulped another $100 million chunk of venture funding for its domain name purchases.
The latest funding, led by Goldman Sachs, is the company’s third. The previous two, for $120 million and $100 million respectively, bring the total to a whopping $320 million.
Companies like Demand buy up lists of Web site names that users are likely to accidentally type into their browsers…. Continue Reading
Intalio, business process management software co., restarts with $2.3M
Intalio, a provider of business process management software, has raised $2.3 million in a so-called “recapitalization” financing round, according to VentureWire (subscription required).
It has offices in Palo Alto, Georgia and Geneva.
Such rounds typically occur because the company’s earlier incarnation didn’t do well and it needs to start again with a clean slate, i.e., to provide management incentives such as stock awards.
The company’s existing investors – Cargill Ventures, 3i Group, Sippl MacDonald Ventures, Woodside Fund… Continue Reading
Carbonite, online backup company, raises $15M
Carbonite, a Boston, Mass. company that offers an easy online backup service to consumers and small businesses, has raised $15 million more in a second round of financing.
The round was led by Menlo Ventures, and included 3i Group and Common Angels.
Carbonite appears to have some momentum because of the simplicity of its plan. People pay $50 a year for unlimited backup. That’s pretty competitive. It’s easy to use: You sign up on the website and… Continue Reading